Hello neighbors,

As August comes to an end, I hope everyone had a great and relaxing summer. School is back in session, so please remember to slow down while driving and be especially careful at crosswalks.

During August, the SF Board of Supervisors has been on recess and this has allowed me to spend more quality time in the neighborhood, which I love! Many thanks to neighbors for inviting me on a walk along the Pilot Trail to highlight some of the needed improvements. In response to the concerns of neighbors, I have scheduled a walk through with Richmond Station  Police Capt. Michelle Jean and the general manager of Recreation and Park, Phil Ginsburg, so they can work collaboratively to address the concerns of brush overgrowth and garbage. 

It was fun to open up the 10th annual Ping Pong contest where SF Mayor London Breed and I engaged in a friendly game of ping pong. I also was glad to attend the first Job Fair for Older Adults and People with Disabilities where city agencies and other employers engaged with more than 200 jobseekers. Thank you to the Office of Economic and Workforce Development for convening this event.

We had another wonderful National Night Out sponsored by our Richmond Police Station’s Community Police Advisory Board. Many thanks to the volunteers who made this annual event a great success. It was great to meet so many neighbors there and especially so many families!

I took a tour of the Outside Lands venue the day before the event since I have never been to the event before. Although event staff was still working hard to put on the finishing touches, it was very informative and allowed me an opportunity to address safety concerns. We will be holding a community meeting to provide feedback to Another Planet, the event’s producer, so please sign up for our community announcements to receive updates on upcoming events.

The sun was shining on the Richmond Branch Public Library when emerging teen leaders in the Youth Engaged in Library Leadership (YELL) program held a fabulous Culture Carnival on the lawn of the library. There was T-shirt decorating, hands-on activities, food and music. Thank you to these wonderful teen volunteers. I was pleased to attend our District 1 Senior Roundtable to discuss the needs and concerns of our older adult population in the Richmond. The senior population is the largest-growing population in our district and our office is planning the first San Francisco “senior outdoor space,” designed especially for older adults.

Thanks to the Seventh Avenue neighbors for inviting me to join their Project SAFE meeting. Project SAFE works to build community to help keep our neighborhood safe through proactive engagement. The highlight of the month was attending the Chinese brush painting class at the Golden Gate Park Senior Center. Thank you to volunteer teacher Gloria Gee for also inviting famous Chinese artists to provide a demonstration for the students. While I was there I had an opportunity to meet with the all-volunteer Center Leadership Council and appreciate them for their service.

Congratulations to North East Medical Services (NEMS) for being awarded four prestigious awards by the Health Resources and Services Administration. NEMS serves more than 70,000 people in the Bay Area, with the majority of its clients being Medi-Cal participants and Chinese as their primary language. It was an honor to recognize this important institution in our neighborhood. 

We also celebrated a very happy National Senior Day at the Richmond Neighborhood Center. It was a day of information booths, free lunch, music and just plain fun and community, in recognition of our senior population. Thank you to the Neighborhood Center for doing a wonderful One Richmond thing and many thanks to the three senior volunteers who were honored that day. And finally, I’m delighted to have nominated Hockey Haven and the Hobby Company for the City’s legacy business registry.

Please mark your calendars to join us at our annual public safety community meeting at the Golden Gate Park Senior Center at Fulton Street and 37th Avenue on Thursday, Sept. 12, 6-7:30 p.m.

Join me for neighborhood office hours on Monday, Sept. 23, 5:30-7 p.m., at The Art Bistro. Come by to talk about neighborhood happenings and to welcome The Art Bistro team as they have relocated to their new home on the corner of Clement and 31st Avenue.

It is Autumn Moon Festival time once again in the Richmond. For centuries Chinese have celebrated the Autumn Moon as a time to celebrate the bounty of the harvest, the fullness of the moon and to give thanks to the moon goddess, Chang-Oh. This year it will be held on Saturday, Sept. 14, on Clement Street between Sixth and Ninth avenues, 11 a.m-3 p.m. Join us for an afternoon of entertainment, food and information booths. Fun for the whole family!

Coming up on Saturday, Oct. 19, starting at 8:30 a.m., is the annual Richmond District Community Clean Team event with Public Works, neighborhood organizations and hundreds of volunteers. Join us in keeping our district clean and beautiful.

If you haven’t joined the One Richmond community yet, it is time to do it now! It’s free and easy to join. Just go to http://www.OneRichmondSF.com and join more than 3,000 neighbors who have signed on to building a stronger, more inclusive Richmond. Have you done your One Richmond thing today?

San Francisco Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer represents District 1.